No Escaping Destiny
by happieface03
Summary: While running from Bandits,Merlin finds himself trapped in the Crystal Cave... with Arthur, Elyan, Gawaine and Lancelot. Will Merlin be able to avoid the misery that comes with looking in the crystals and keep his secret at the same time?
1. Chapter 1

**I thought I would take a longer break from writing after Amddiffyn but the plot bunnies attacked, and what can I say I had to write or they would have taken my virtual cookies that I baked for my reviewers! and I couldn't let that happen.**

**Well anyway enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin**

His breath was ragged as his feet pounded against the forest floor, his heart frantically breathing from fear and exertion. The only sound in the forest was the clanging of his five companions armor and the breaking of twigs and crushing of leaves under the feat of the five knights, the manservant, and the twenty or so bandits chasing them.

Merlin wondered how they always managed to get into these kinds of situations. It was only a year ago that he and Arthur had run from a different group of bandits in this same part of the forest. The only difference was that this time there were four other knights being chased with them. Why couldn't any of these patrols ever go as planned?

It was supposed to be a nice easy patrol to give Arthur a break from his new duties as king, hunting wasn't a productive enough excuse to leave the court according to his advisors. So the newly crowned king, stepping in for his mentally ill father, had taken his newly appointed and must trusted knights on a patrol to investigate the bandits chasing them now.

Their job had only been to locate the bandits camp and return to Camelot for back up, but Merlin had tripped on a tree root, that he could have sworn wasn't there a minute before, making a large enough noise to alert the nearest bandit to the intruders.

So now he, Arthur, Perceval, Lancelot, Gawaine and Elyan were running for their lives. Merlin could only hope that this time turned out better than the last time he had been chased in this part of the forest.

Arthur led the way through the trees and suddenly Merlin stopped as he saw two familiar wooden statues appear out of the thicket. The statues were so huge Merlin was barely as tall as their feet, the statues carried swords faced down and had crowns on their heads.

He was back at the entrance to the valley of the fallen kings.

"Arthur" Merlin said

"What Merlin?" Arthur asked exasperated as he and the other knights slowed to a stop.

"Did we not establish that this place is cursed the last time we were here?"

"It is not cursed Merlin!"

"Stop being such a girl Merlin," Arthur yelled as he pulled Merlin through the archway "We will hide in a cave and wait for the bandits to go."

Reluctantly Merlin followed Arthur into the valley of the fallen kings as he heard the bandits approaching.

The six men ran. They ran where Arthur had fallen a year ago with an arrow in his back. Passed the place where Taliesin had cured him.

Merlin continued running, pushing back all of the memories that this place tried to resurface, and looked for a suitable cave to hide in. There were many caves along the narrow ridge but they need one where the bandits couldn't see them enter.

Merlin finally say the perfect cave as the turned a bend. It was close enough to the turn that the bandits wouldn't see them enter and looked big enough to hold all six men and five suits of armor.

"This way!" he called as he ran into the cave. He heard his companions following him in so he went in as far as he could, expecting to have to squeeze a little.

Merlin doubled over, hands on his knees so he could catch his breath. When he finally started breathing regularly again he looked around him.

First he looked to make sure that all the knights were with him in the cave. Once he was assured they were all safe he looked around the cave.

Hundreds of crystals illuminated the large cave. Each one had a slightly pink tint and seemed to call to Merlin to be looked at.

Merlin groaned as he tried not to look into the crystals. When he had looked at these crystals before, the visions they had shown him had brought him nothing but misery. He had learned that nothing good can come from looking into the crystals.

But despite his efforts to ignore the beckoning crystals, Merlin glanced into a small one close to the ground to his left.

"Your destiny young warlock." The dragon's voice filled his ears as he saw him in the crystal, still chained in the bowels of Camelot.

Merlin gasped and turned his head away in the opposite direction from the crystal only to be faced with another crystal.

"Look into the Crystals Emrys, Look." Taliesin was pointing to the crystals behind his head during his first visit to the crystal cave.

Merlin gasped again as he closed his eyes tightly.

"No," He whispered. He would not look again.

"Leave it to you Merlin to choose the girliest cave possible." Arthur said as he patted Merlin on the back.

"The bandits have passed sire. I suggest we wait here a little longer and then head back to Camelot." Elyan said

Merlin couldn't see Arthur nod since his eyes were shut but he heard him agree with Elyan.

The two voices from his past kept ringing through Merlin's head making it difficult to follow the conversation.

"Young Warlock…."

"Look Emrys…"

"Your Destiny…."

"Into the Crystals…."

"Destiny…."

"Look!"

"No!" Merlin shouted as he placed the palms of his hands on his eyes, trying to block out the words of the Great Dragon and Taliesin from the crystals.

Suddenly there was a loud rumble, and Merlin opened his eyes just in time to see rocks from the ridge fall right in front of the entrance to the cave so they were trapped.

"Destiny…"

::::

Arthur stared at the rock in wonder.

Only a minute before Merlin had called them into the cave, a cave he hadn't noticed until Merlin pointed out, and he had though they were safe. But somehow rocks from the ridge had fallen exactly in front of the entrance to the cave, sealing them in.

Right before the rocks had fallen Merlin had yelled out "No!" and after they stopped falling he swore he heard him whisper "Destiny".

Now his manservant was sitting in the corner of the cave, as far from the crystals as he could get, with his hands covering his eyes and his knees pulled up to his chest.

"What the hell just happened?" he wondered out loud

"Why I thought it was simple your highness," Gawaine said in his typical I'm not taking this seriously manner "Rocks fell and now we are stuck in a cave full of pretty pink crystals."

Arthur glared at him "Well I know that. What I want to know is how those rocks fell."

"Maybe someone pushed them from the top of the ridge and they happened to fall in front of this cave?" Perceval offered

"Perceval my friend, you are the only person in all of Camelot with the strength to push rocks." Elyan said

Perceval crossed his arms stubbornly "Maybe they used some kind of contraption?"

"It doesn't matter," Gawaine interjected "I don't care how those rocks got there, but I just want to find a way out of this bloody cave so Elyan you come with me and we'll see if there's another exit down that way. The rest of you can start trying to push the rocks out of the way."

Gawaine and Elyan took their swords and went to explore the cave while Perceval and Arthur started arguing over which rocks to try and push first.

Lancelot on the other hand went to sit next to Merlin who still hadn't moved from his corner.

"Merlin," Lancelot whispered. Merlin jumped at his voice "Merlin, did you do that?"

"No, well at least I don't think so," Merlin replied "But I do think I had something to do with it."

"Well then do you want to tell me why you're sitting in this corner covering your eyes?"

"This place is called the Crystal Cave. I'm told this is where magic was first created." Merlin began "The crystals have special properties. A powerful enough sorcerer can use them to see the past future and present."

"And I'm guessing a warlock is powerful enough to use these crystals?"

"Yes, but I cannot control what I see. I've looked into crystals from this cave twice before and both times it only brought me misery. One time I almost caused the death of the king because of what I saw."

"So what does that have to do with the rocks falling?"

Merlin took a deep breath before he responded "I'm not exactly sure. Right before the rocks fell I looked into the crystals for only a moment and I saw two moments from my past. One was the great dragon telling me about my destiny and the other was a sorcerer named Taliesin telling me to look in the crystals. Then I said no and the rocks came down."

Lancelot thought for a moment before saying "I think the crystals want you to look into them."

"No," Merlin said firmly "I will never look into those crystals again."

**Well what do you think? Please leave a review and I'll give you a virtual cookie that I saved from the plot bunnies!**


	2. Chapter 2

**wow *stares at computer open mouthed* 15 reviews and 72 favorites/alerts for one chapter? That's the greatest response to any story I've written! **

**thanks so much to everyone who alerted/ favorited and to Tagrea, lilyflower1345, Alaia Skyhawk, Welcome-to-the-FAYZ, hyperfuzzy, Snowy midnight 942, Bookworm4000,ruby890, Shewolf24, moonchild08, WhiteKingdomAngel, MirrorFlower and DarkWind, kutoki, Catindahat and BlackShadow23 for reviewing!**

**Maybe I should offer virtual bakedgoods more often...**

**Anyway onto the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin**

Gawaine and Elyan returned after an hour.

"There's no other exit back there," Elyan reported "We checked everywhere for even the smallest crack that would make it easier to get out but we found nothing."

Arthur took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair. He, Lancelot and Perceval had barely made a dent in the rocks, even with Perceval's extreme strength. As the King he was the designated leader and he had to come up with a solution to their impossible problem. They had no food or water with them, they had left it all with the horses, but if they didn't die of hunger or thirst then they would freeze to death.

In this part of Camelot at night the temperature dropped well below freezing, and without any wood in the cave they had nothing to make a fire with and their blankets were with the horses.

"All right everyone lets think," Arthur said as he tried to sound confident "there has to be a way out of here."

"We can keep trying to pull out rocks" Perceval suggested

"Ya cause that's been working great so far" grumbled Lancelot whose foot Perceval had dropped a rock on.

Arthur sighed "Unless anyone else has any ideas I think Perceval is right. Trying to make a break in the rocks may be our best chance."

The knights went back to work, pulling out rocks or arguing over which to pull out, except for Lancelot who went over to where Merlin was still sitting, eyes closed, in the corner.

"Merlin," Lancelot asked hesitantly

"Ya?"

"Could you get us out of here," Lancelot dropped his voice down to a whisper "using magic?"

Merlin thought for a moment and peeked at the wall of rocks blocking the entrance to the cave. "Probably, but I can't do magic in front of all of them."

"It may be our only way out of here."

"But if I do, Uther will have me killed."

"If you do not we will all die."

Merlin paused before he answered "There must be another way out. Perceval should be able to move the bigger rocks and we will be out of here before you know it."

Lancelot snorted "I doubt it. Those rocks are barely budging. Even with Perceval it could take weeks to move those rocks physically."

Merlin sighed "Lance, I just can't…"

"What about the crystals?" Lancelot asked desperately "You said the rocks fell when you refused to look into them. Maybe they have something to show you. Maybe we are here because you are meant to see something in them. When you refused to look they knew you had to and found a way to keep you in here."

"I will never look in these crystals again." Merlin said shaking his head

"You cannot fight Destiny Merlin"

"I will not look in them. They tempt you to try and change the future, but really you create the future you wanted to avoid."

"Merlin you are the only person who can save us and _you will not even try_!" Lancelot said the last part louder than he had intended, going louder than the whisper he and Merlin had been speaking in before.

"Lancelot don't blame Merlin for being totally useless in these types of situations," Arthur said after hearing the last part of Lancelot's outburst "It's not his fault that he is barely strong enough to lift a pebble."

"I am not useless" Merlin said defensively

"Oh yes because you are so helpful sitting in the corner there refusing to look at the pretty pink crystals." Arthur said sarcastically

"I have my reasons for not looking in the crystals."

"Merlin stop trying to be mysterious, it really doesn't suite you."

"I don't need to try, I'm naturally this mysterious" Merlin bantered back without lifting his head

"Merlin do you are like an open book, nothing mysterious about you."

"Or maybe you are just too much of a prat to see it."

"Idiot"

"Clotpole"

"_Merlin_" Arthur said as he turned around to ignore his manservant and return to the task of finding a way out of the cave.

When he looked at his men, instead of seeing the desolate hopeless looks that had been on their faces since the rocks had fallen his men were smiling. His bantering with Merlin seemed to have lifted their spirits. Maybe Merlin wasn't totally useless after all, not that Arthur would ever admit it.

"All right men let's get back to work."

:::

Elyan watched as Perceval strained against one of the larger rocks, pushing it one moment then trying to pull it the next. Yet it would not budge.

"Maybe Perceval should work on the smaller rocks," Elyan suggested "If we can get enough of them out maybe these bigger ones will fall and we will be able to squeeze through."

"Good idea Elyan," Arthur praised "Give it a try Perceval."

Perceval moved over to one of the smaller rocks and started pulling. All four knights could see the strain on his bicep but the rock didn't budge.

"I cannot move it sire." Perceval said eyes lowered, ashamed that he could not move even a small rock.

Arthur patted Perceval on the back "It's all right we will keep trying."

"Why bother," Gawaine said "we have no chance of getting out of here."

There was a pause before Arthur replied.

"Weren't you the one who told me the situations with no chance were the only one worth fighting for?" the king asked "Why is this situation any different? You all have followed me into more dangerous and seemingly impossible tasks before, so I ask why is this one any different? We managed to take Camelot back from an immortal army with only seven men. If we could do that, I believe we can move some stupid rocks."

When Arthur looked around at his men he saw determination in each of their eyes, except for Lancelot who was staring at Merlin with a thoughtful expression.

"Well if we have no chance," said Gawaine "Then let's move these damn rocks"

Elyan and Perceval shouted in agreement as they started pulling at rocks once more. Gawaine and Arthur soon joined them leaving Lancelot to go talk to Merlin.

"Merlin did you hear that?" Lancelot asked "They think they can get out of here, but those rocks are definitly being held together with some kind of magic."

"Lance I can't…" Merlin began

"I do not want to hear that anymore," Lancelot interrupted "you have no excuse. We will all die if you do not do something and you will not do something because you are afraid. I once told you Merlin that you probably deserve to be knighted more than the rest of us, but now I'm not so sure."

"You don't understand…"

"No I do understand," Lancelot interrupted again "I just don't care."

Lancelot then grabbed Merlin's collar and pulled him to his feet.

"Now either you make a decision or I will do it for you, but I will not let any of us die in this cave."

**Well what do you think? Merlin has to make a choice now wheter he wants to or not (cause Lance will kick his but if he doesn't)**

**Please please please please please with a cherry on top leave a review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to everyone who alerted/favorited! Specially thanks to: **

**Tagrea, Bookgirl00, Alaia Skyhawk, AzraelLilith, noreallyidontcare, towel dry, caitlyn marie, WhiteKingdomAngel, MirrorFlower and DarkWind, NykSkyBlue, Cassy27, hyperfuzzy, and Kergma for reviewing!**

**And since you guys are such big fans of virtual desserts, everyone who reviews gets a piece of virtual cake!**

**Now for the highly anticipated Merlin making his decision! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin (But if I did that would be sooooo cool!)**

_"Now either you make a decision or I will do it for you, but I will not let any of us die in this cave."_

Merlin looked like an idiot (or at least more of an idiot than usual) with his hands over his eyes and Lancelot holding him by the color. Arthur was about interrupt whatever the two men were doing but Lancelot had a look in his eye that said 'Don't mess with me'.

Merlin still had his hands over his eyes, Arthur couldn't figure out why he would not look at the crystals. They were nothing but harmless, if a bit girly, so why was Merlin afraid of them?

Merlin had always had his quirks, Arthur reasoned, there was no point of trying to understand his clumsy idiotic manservant.

Lancelot was glaring at Merlin intently, as if waiting for the manservant to make a decision. And from the part of Merlin's face that he could see, since most of it was covered by his hands, Arthur could tell that Merlin was upset.

Merlin whispered something so that Arthur couldn't hear it and Lancelot let go of his collar.

Arthur was about to intervene and make Lancelot stop making Merlin upset, but suddenly Perceval yelled out,

"It's moving! The rock is moving!"

"This one too!" Elyan shouted as he pulled on a significantly smaller rock than Perceval's.

"Aye and this one" Gawaine said

Arthur forgot about Lancelot and Merlin and went over to help his men. The rocks were budging but they still weren't coming out.

:::

For Merlin the choice was obvious. There was no way he could do magic in front of Arthur, the prince who would most likely turn him into his father. Of course Lancelot and Gawaine would help him escape first, but that would mean leaving Camelot which would mean abandoning his destiny, which was not an option.

And if Lancelot was correct in saying that the rocks were held together by magic there would be no guarantee that he would be able to magically move the rocks.

So he would have to look into the crystals, and if his earlier visions were anything to go by that meant this was also part of his destiny. Of course a part of his destiny that he was not too fond of.

But deciding to look and putting that decision into practice were two very different things. He could barely tell Lancelot what he had decided, let alone actually do it.

But Lancelot was right and Merlin knew it. If he did not look into the crystals everyone would die and it would be all his fault. And if they all died, that would mean Arthur would die and then Merlin would have failed his destiny.

'Stupid destiny,' Merlin thought 'Always putting me in unpleasant situations.'

Merlin knew he would regret looking into the crystals, not enough to choose differently because Arthur's life was on the line, yet enough to never return to this cave again. He was going to take precautionary measures in the future that he and Arthur never returned to anywhere near the cave so that he would never be put in a situation like this one.

"I'll look" Merlin whispered

Lancelot let go of Merlin's collar and said "I'm here if you need me."

Merlin smiled and was about to thank Lancelot when he heard Perceval, Elyan and Gawaine shout. The rocks were moving.

"Seems like the crystals are encouraging you to look." Lancelot said

Merlin sighed "It seems so."

Merlin took a deep breath and took his hands off of his eyes. He looked at Lancelot's reassuring look before turning his head to look at the nearest crystal.

_A young Uther stood on his balcony glaring at the figures in the square below him. _

_A young woman begged in her chains as a little boy in chains was lead to the well. The little boy could only be about four years old and was crying and reaching for the woman. _

_The woman screamed as the boy's head was dunked in the well so that he couldn't breathe. _

Merlin gasped and turned his head away, unable to watch anymore. His gaze landed on another crystal…

_Uther watched silently as men, women and children were burned, drowned or beheaded. Sometimes entire families were sentenced by the imposing royal figure on the balcony. _

To Merlin it felt like an eternity as he watched scenes from what only could be the great purge. Nobody but Lancelot had noticed when he fell to the ground, the knight whispering his name asking if he was all right.

But Merlin couldn't respond as his gaze fell on another crystal.

_This time a woman was being dragged to the pyre. She was begging for her life, saying over and over that she was no sorceress, that she had never practiced magic. _

There was something different about this one than the dozens the crystals had shown Merlin before. Something familiar…

_An older Uther watched without mercy as the woman was tied to the stake, a nervous Arthur standing behind him on the balcony. _

Arthur? Merlin wondered. Arthur was barely a child during the great purge, how could he be standing behind his father in this vision?

_"You have been found guilty of practicing magic for which the penalty is death." Uther declared from his balcony, far above the bloodshed. _

And Merlin recognized the woman, she sold cloth from a stall in the lower town.

_"I am no sorcerer," the woman begged_ _"I am no sorcerer"_

_The woman repeated these words over and over again until the executioner lighted the pyre and the words ended and screams began. _

_And soon even the screams stopped as she chocked on the smoke, and then fell silent. _

_"Such measures are necessary for the safety of Camelot. People who use magic know only evil and seek to destroy us. Magic corrupts even the best of hearts as the betrayal of the Lady Morgana has shown us."_

_And then next vision was of a man being beheaded, the next of a woman being drowned, and the next of a child burning… dozens of deaths showing up in the light pink crystals. _

_In each scene Arthur stood behind his father, his face a careful mask that showed no emotion. But his left hand gripped his sword until his knuckles were white as each person begged for mercy and claimed their innocence._

Merlin lowered his head and breathed deeply, looking at the ground where luckily there were no crystals.

"Merlin?" Lancelot asked hesitantly.

Merlin sat up slowly, closing his eyes so he wouldn't have to look at the crystals again. He was about to tell Lancelot he was ok when Perceval let out a triumphant cry.

"Yes!" he shouted as he tugged the rock free of the wall, making the other rocks tumble down so that there was a large enough opening for a man to crawl through "We can leave!"

**So what did you think? Why don't you tell me in a review? Remember that all reviews get a special piece of virtual cake!**

**And what do you think the visions mean? If you guess correctly I won't tell you but I'm curious to see how you guys interpret them. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Well here we go the next chaper. You all have to forgive me I wrote this while I was super tire but I wanted to get this posted.**

**Special thanks to Tagrea, ARTs Ninja Pal, KayeBell, FiammaNoire,AzraelLilith, Alai Skyhawk, NekomataHanyou, MirrorFlower and DarkWind, Cassy27, hazelbunny, jayley, ruby890 for reviewing! Hope you all enjoyed your cake.**

**Everyone who reviews for this chapter gets a virtual cupcake!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin**

Lancelot took a deep breath of the crisp fresh air. It felt good to breathe fresh air rather than the stale air of the cave.

He was the last of the knights to climb through the opening Perceval and the others had made. After Perceval had pulled out the first rock, it had been easy for all the others to pull out rocks as well so that there was a hole big enough in the rocks for a man to climb through.

Merlin scrambled through the hole with a haunted look in his eye. Lancelot hadn't had a chance to talk to him about what the crystals had shown him yet, but from the look on Merlin's face he could tell it wasn't good.

Lancelot was about to ask Merlin what he saw but Arthur started talking first.

"Well men, we did well in there. Because of each of you we can now head home for Camelot!" Arthur said to Elyan Perceval and Gawaine.

The three men cheered and the group started walking back to the horses.

As they walked Elyan, Perceval, Gawaine and Arthur boasted about their strength, bragging about large rocks they had lifted and mostly just joking with one another. None seemed to notice how serious Merlin was or that Lancelot mostly stayed out of the conversation.

After quickly coming to a consensus that Perceval was the strongest in the group, Elyan Gawaine and Arthur started arguing over who was the strongest.

"Did you see that last rock I pulled out?" Gawaine asked "It was twice the size of any rock either of you pulled out!"

"Yes but after Perceval pulled out his rock I pulled out a rock twice as big as yours!" Arthur bragged.

The three men continued their argument until they reached the horses and even as they mounted their steeds and headed back to Camelot, the whole time remaining oblivious to the brooding quiet manservant five steps behind them.

This went on for a while until Arthur said "At least we all did more than Merlin."

"I did more than you think Arthur." Merlin said cooly

Arthur laughed "Ya cause sitting in the corner with your eyes shut really helped. Look at me I'm Merlin. I won't look at the girly pink rocks because they're so scary." Arthur said in a high pitched voice and pretending to cower on his horse. Gawaine, Elyan and Perceval all laughed.

"Arthur stop." Lancelot said sternly.

Arthur sent him a questioning look and Lancelot tilted his head towards Merlin. For the first time Arthur noticed his manservant's odd behavior. Gone was the usual goofy smile and mischievous glint in his eyes. Instead the manservant stared absently into the trees with a haunted look on his face, as if he had already forgotten that Arthur was talking to him.

Arthur sent Lancelot another questioning look but Lancelot shrugged his shoulders and looked ahead. It definitely would not be a good idea to tell Arthur the truth about the crystal cave.

The group rode in silence for a few moments before Gawaine said a joke and the knights except for Lancelot started to joke once more. Lancelot kept an eye on Merlin as they rode, wondering what Merlin had seen in the crystals to make him look so empty.

:::

As soon as they arrived in Camelot Merlin jumped off his horse, handed the reins to a stable boy and stormed off in the direction of Gaius's chambers. He heard Lancelot rushing to keep up with his rapid pace and could feel Arthur's curious stare but couldn't bring himself to care about explaining anything to either of them. He needed to talk to Gaius and soon or he feared the vision would make him go mad.

Merlin brooded over the visions as he walked the familiar hallways of the castle. On the way back to Camelot he had had plenty of time to think about what the visions could possibly mean and he had come to a conclusion but he wouldn't feel better until Gaius confirmed his theory.

Well he wouldn't be perfect, the visions would haunt him for the rest of his life, just as the other visions from the crystal cave did, plus if the visions meant what he thought they meant Camelot would be in big trouble.

Merlin instantly felt better as he entered Gaius's chambers and Gaius started yelling at him.

"Merlin, where have you been? It's almost sundown! You were supposed to be back hours ago! You didn't go wondering off to avoid your chores did you? Because I have plenty of chores for you… are you all right?" Gaius asked after he finally took a good look at his ward.

Merlin shook his head as he sat down at the table "We went to the crystal cave."

Gaius froze. Before he could respond Lancelot barged into the room.

"Merlin are you all right? I wanted to ask you what you saw earlier but the others were there."

"You looked in the crystals_?"_Gaius asked incredulously "Are you mad? You know what kind of trouble they can cause."

Merlin sighed. "Gaius I think I was meant to look in them again." Merlin explained how they all were trapped in the cave and how when he had first glimpsed in the crystals they had urged him to look in the crystals because it was his destiny.

"And after seeing what I've seen I'm convinced that I have to stop the visions from happening."

"What did you see Merlin?" asked Gaius who, along with Lancelot, had joined Merlin at the table.

"I saw images from the great purge," Merlin said slowly "There were…. Uther he…. It was terrible."

Merlin took a deep rasping breath as he tried not to let the tears that threatened to escape.

"But then… Arthur was there, with his father." Merlin continued

"But Arthur was just a baby during the purge, there was no way he could have been at an execution." Gaius said.

"I think that the later images were not of the great purge of the past, but of a new great purge of the future." Merlin said "In one of the later visions Uther was explaining how Morgana's betrayal proves that magic can corrupt even the kindest of souls which is why he must eliminate all magic."

"You think that there will be another great purge?" Lancelot asked

"That cannot be possible," Gaius said "Uther is in no condition to take back control. From what I have examined Uther will not be in his right mind for a long time."

"The visions do not have to happen immediately," Merlin said "Remember that last time I saw visions of myself as old when I saved Gwen and I saw Morgana with Uther's crown on her head and they happened months later."

"So Uther could get better in a year or even two years and start the purge then?" Lancelot asked

"It seems so." Gaius said

"So we have to make sure that doesn't happen." Lancelot said.

"It may not be that simple." Gaius said

"Why not?" Lancelot asked

"Because the only ways to prevent this future are to convince Uther that magic is not bad, which is virtually impossible, make sure that Uther never recovers or kill the king."

**Well what did you all think? Keep in mind that I wrote this while half asleep. The next chapter will be better I promise! It will be full of Merlin whump (thats the term right?) and I'll be more awake.**

**Also I had this idea that I'd start a twitter so that you can keep up with when I'm updating/writing since my updates are pretty sporatic. Plus I thought it would be fun to have a place where I can rant about Merlin when I want to. here's the twitter url: /#!/happieface03 **

**If that's a bad idea that I thought would be good because I'm just so tired. I've been posting tweets as I wrote this one to give you guys an idea. **

**Remember to review I baked virtual cupcakes!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everyone! Look at me being a fast updater, two chapter in one weekend! Plus this one is really long!**

**Special thanks to FiammaNoire, MirrorFlower and DarkWind, Alaia Skyhawk, Tagrea, The 10-11 Doctors, NykSkyBlue, MamzelleHermy, Casy27, acklesaddict, eyesintothesoul, ruby890, Krishnaa, and merlingirl for reviewing! I hope you enjoyed those cupcakes!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own merlin **

Lancelot stared shocked at the warlock sitting next to him at the table.

"You can't be serious," he asked "All three of those options are treason!"

"We have no choice." Merlin said shaking his head

"There has to be another way Merlin," Gaius said gently "Maybe if all three of us sleep on it someone will come up with a different solution…"

"No!" Merlin interrupted standing up violently "The two of you did not see what I saw. Uther is going to take all of his anger and hatred for Morgana out on the innocent people of Camelot. It will be a blood bath! I have been thinking about how to avoid this for hours and there are no other options! We have to kill the king!"

"But what about the other two options?" Lancelot asked "Surely we don't need to go to such drastic measures without trying our other options first?"

Merlin shook his head and sat down "I've already thought it all through. The other two options have major flaws that could make the future still come to pass."

"Merlin is right," Gaius said reasonably but with a hint of fear in his eyes "Trying to convince Uther to change his mind about magic would not only get us all killed, but would most likely make him more adamant than ever that magic is a force for evil. And I can't push back Uther's recovery forever. No matter what I do, eventually he will get better and when he does I fear that the second Great Purge that Merlin saw will come to pass."

Lancelot shot out of his seat and started pacing while rubbing his fingers through his hair.

"So we have to kill the king," he said and without waiting for a reply continued "This goes against everything in the knight's code. I swore loyalty to the man I am now trying to kill!"

"Shush Lancelot not so loud!" Gaius criticized

"Lancelot I know this goes against everything you believe in," Merlin said as he stood and put a hand on his friend's shoulder "You do not have to help us if it disturbs you that much. This will not be easy for either me or Gaius, after working so hard to keep Uther alive all these years, so all we can ask of you is to please not tell anyone what we discussed here today."

Lancelot looked down into Merlin's eyes and saw the determination there.

"You will do this no matter what?" Lancelot asked

"I must do what is best for Camelot." Merlin replied simply

Lancelot took a deep breath "All right I'm in," he said "But I do this because as a knight it is my duty to protect people, not because I am betraying my king."

Merlin patted Lancelot on the back "I know" he said

"Well this is all very well, but now we have to face an even bigger problem than Lancelot's morals," Gaius interrupted "How do we kill a king who is properly guarded and under constant supervision due to his mental health without bringing suspicion onto any of us?"

Merlin and Lancelot looked at each other and sighed. Merlin took his place back at the table and knew that he was in for a very late night.

:::

Merlin stumbled into Arthur's chambers the next morning half asleep, almost dropping the prince's breakfast in the process.

He, Lancelot and Gaius had been up late perfecting their plan. There were so many variables to account for that the plan had to be executed perfectly for it to work. Even though this way was very dangerous and there was high chance of one of them getting caught, it was the plan with the least chance of arising suspicion onto the three of them that they could think of.

Merlin yawned as he thought of the night ahead. It would be another sleepless night for the young warlock since Gaius had insisted that they kill Uther as soon as possible.

"The king get's stronger every day," he had said "We must act while he still is not in his right mind."

"Get up sire."Merlin said curtly as he yanked open the Prince's curtains.

Arthur moaned and sat up in bed. "What did you just say?"

"I said get up I have your breakfast here and you have a council meeting in an hour."

Arthur just stared at his manservant for a moment "What happened to the whole rise and shine routine?" he asked

"So you would prefer that I come in annoyingly happy every morning? You said you hated it." Merlin said confused

"I do hate it," Arthur said as he got out of bed and headed for the dressing screen "But it gives me a wonderful excuse to throw things at you."

Merlin rolled his eyes and started to make the bed "You know some people might say that your obsession with throwing things at me is a sign that you are a prat."

"I would not say I am obsessed with throwing things at your head," Arthur said as he reappeared from behind the screen fully dressed and headed to the table where his breakfast waited "I would call it more of a hobby."

"A hobby?" Merlin said his voice devoid of his usual cheekiness

"Yes and one I have perfected," Arthur turned to see that Merlin was not laughing or smiling or about to say some cheeky retort in response. The large smile that had been on the prince's face just moments before was replaced by a thoughtful look. "Merlin?"

"I'll have these washed for you sire and sharpen you sword while you are in the council meeting sire." Merlin said in a no nonsense tone, picking up the Prince's discarded night shirt as he headed towards the door.

"Merlin stop," Arthur ordered "Merlin, I have noticed… well since we got stuck in the cave yesterday, you've been acting… well acting sort of odd," there was an awkward silence as neither Arthur nor Merlin said anything.

"And I was wondering," Arthur continued, desperate to fill the silence "Well, I was wondering if you are… well."

"You're asking me if I'm well?" Merlin asked suspiciously

"Yes, well I can't have your sullen mood inhibit your work now can I?" Arthur said, using the first lame excuse that would explain why a prince would ask about his manservant's welfare that he could think of.

"Well I'm fine," Merlin said looking at the prince oddly "thanks for asking."

There was another awkward pause as the two young men struggled to find something to say.

"That was weird." Arthur said

"Yes, very." Merlin agreed

"Let's never do that again." Arthur said as he sat down to eat his breakfast

"Yes, definitely not." Merlin said relieved as he walked out of the Prince's chambers and headed to make preparations with Gaius for later that night.

:::

Merlin slipped into an alcove and tried to hold his gasping breath so that the guards with Arthur leading them wouldn't hear him.

He pushed himself against the wall, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, as he heard the sound of the guard's heavy boots running past him. He depended on his hearing to tell him when there was nobody left in the hallway, his eyes were almost useless under the cowl of the dark cloak he was wearing.

Merlin quickly took off the dark cloak, the only thing distinguishing him as the man who had tried to kill the king, and left it in the alcove. He quietly slipped out of the alcove and into the walkway and started walking to the rendezvous point where he was meant to meet Lancelot slowly. He wanted to look like he belonged there, like he knew that nothing was wrong.

As he made his way through the castle back to Lancelot he thought of what had happened to him that night.

At first everything went according to plan. Gaius stayed in his chambers reading a book, waiting to be summoned to attempt and save the king's life. Lancelot had left a minute before he did, heading to intercept the guards on patrol near the king's room so that Merlin would have time to get in and get out without being seen.

Merlin had put on the dark cloak and had walked purposefully to the king's chambers. Nobody stopped him, and he was careful to make sure that his face was hidden beneath the cowl of his hood.

When he reached the king's chambers there were no guards present, Lancelot was holding them up around the corner talking about something or another. If Merlin was quiet he could hear the guard's laughter and Lancelot's voice, they were that close to him, yet far enough that Merlin would be able to leave the king's chambers undisturbed.

This next part was critical, and when everything had started to go wrong. Merlin silently opened the door to the king's chambers and entered the room. Neither the king's manservant, who stayed with the king at all times to ensure the mad man's safety, nor the king noticed anything amiss as Merlin silently made his way across the room. The servant was too focused on preparing the king's dinner by the fire and the king was too preoccupied making sure that the servant didn't poison his food to settle the king's irrational paranoia that had arisen after Morgana's betrayal.

When he was close enough Merlin took his dagger out if its sheath beneath his cloak and clenched it in his right hand as he held out his left hand to perform the spell.

"_înnopta barbat_" Merlin whispered and the servant fell to the ground, asleep and unharmed.

Uther instantly shot up from the chair he had been sitting on and pointed a shaky finger at the hooded figure.

"You have magic" he whispered

Merlin didn't reply but lifted his arm to stab Uther in the heart… and hesitated.

Uther looked awful, there was more gray in his hear than there was only a few months ago and had dark purple bags under his eyes. His whole body was shaking, but the worst part was his eyes. They looked glassy as if the king wasn't fully there, but in a place far away that only he could see.

But suddenly the king's eyes cleared and hardened and Merlin's second of hesitation out of pity became his undoing.

"You have magic!" Uther yelled "Sorcerer! There is a sorcerer in my room trying to kill me!"

Merlin tried to stab the king, but Uther had years of experience of fighting from the battlefield. The King swiftly dodged the knife and took hold of Merlin's wrist twisting it so that he was forced to drop the knife.

Merlin tried to tug his arm free, but Uther had a grip of steel.

"I will teach you to try and kill me, you evil backstabbing sorcerer!" Uther yelled "You will burn tomorrow on the pyre! You will burn for betraying Camelot and all of us who loved you!"

Merlin wasn't sure if the king knew that the cloaked figure in his grip was not his traitorous daughter or not, nor did he care. He only wanted to get out of there.

"_Astrice_" Merlin said and the king went flying through the air and crashed into the wall.

Then the doors opened as three guards entered the room.

"Sire!"The one on the left exclaimed

"He's a sorcerer!" Uther yelled as he pointed at Merlin, his finger no longer shaking "Arrest him!"

But Merlin had no intention of being captured by anyone.

"_Astrice_" Merlin repeated and the three guards went flying into the wall behind them.

Merlin ran. He sprinted out of the king's chambers down the steps and to the corner where Lancelot was standing.

"What the hell…." Lancelot began

"_înnopta barbat_" Merlin yelled an Lancelot fell asleep onto the floor.

Merlin had wasted precious seconds making sure that Lancelot could not be considered an accomplice of his by the king in the investigation that was sure to follow and by the time he turned the corner, the three guards were up and making chase.

At some point more guards had joined with Arthur leading them. No matter what Merlin did, no matter how many twists and turns he took the guards he could not lose them.

Until he had slipped into the alcove.

Now he was walking nonchalantly down the hall, as if nothing was wrong.

But everything was wrong. He had failed, and who knew what repercussions would have?

**Well what did you think? I thought it was pretty epic myself, but that's just my opinion.**

**Did you like the Merlin/Arthur awkward moment there as Arthur tried to be a good person? (Yes, acklesaddict that was for you)**

**If you review this time I have special virtual muffins for you! Because Tagrea has been asking for them so here they are!**

**And remember to check me out on twitter for special insider info on when i'm writing and updating! My username is the same as here happieface03 so please follow!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone here's chapter 6!**

**Thanks to everyone who favorited/alerted and special thanks to hazelbunny, eyesintothesoul, Khodgi01, merlingirl, MirrorFlower and DarkWind, NykSkyBlue, Alaia Skyhawk, MamzelleHermy, The 10-11 Doctors, Cassy 27, Tagrea, Ph0enix-Flyer, FiammaNoire, Acklesaddict, Whirlwind421, Catindahat, FaelwenofLothlorien, and AzraelLilith for reviewing!**

**and super special thanks to my beta UltraGeek!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin**

Merlin walked up to Lancelot who waited anxiously at the rendezvous point.

"Merlin! Thank god!" Lancelot exclaimed as he grasped Merlin's shoulders, "What happened back there?"

Merlin didn't respond. He only shook his head and his shoulders free from Lancelot's grip and headed towards Gaius's chambers. Lancelot followed silently, recognizing that Merlin was waiting to tell him what happened until they were safely inside the room.

As they moved through the castle, they heard the warning bell being rung and doubled their pace.

As they entered the physician's workroom Gaius rose from the table where he had been waiting nervously. He had heard the warning the bell and had worried for his ward.

"Merlin!" he exclaimed as he embraced his ward. He pulled away and held Merlin at arm's length, "What happened?"

"I failed," Merlin said, unable to meet Gaius's eyes.

Gaius was about to respond when a flustered guard threw the door open.

"Gaius, the king needs you in his chambers immediately," the guard said.

Gaius did not want to leave his ward, who was staring intently at his shoes, but he knew he had no choice. He had to obey the king and pretend that he had nothing to do with the recent assassination plot. He sighed and responded to the guard.

"Of course," Gaius said as he quickly grabbed his bag and headed towards the door. At the door he turned to look at Merlin, who was still staring at the floor. Then, out of excuses, he left.

He followed the guard to Uther's chambers. The guard set a brisk pace so by the time they arrived at Uther's chambers Gaius was breathing heavily.

"Gaius," the king greeted as Gaius entered the room "Thank you for coming so quickly."

Gaius bowed. "Of course, my Lord."

"I'm sure you have heard the warning bell, but someone attempted to kill me tonight and there was a bit of a fight," Uther said

"Well then I must do a thorough examination of you, my Lord, to make sure you are not injured," Gaius said, knowing that an examination was only one of the reasons Uther summoned him.

"Yes, of course," Uther said as he removed his shirt and sat on the bed.

Gaius went over to the king and started to examine him. The room was completely silent except for the occasional shout from the guards in the main square outside of Uther's window.

Gaius took a salve from his bag when he noticed bruises on the king's back.

'What had Merlin done that left bruises that large?' Gaius wondered.

As Gaius was applying the salve there was a knock on the door and Arthur walked in.

"Father," Arthur bowed and glanced towards Gaius

"Arthur, Gaius is simply examining me for possible injuries. It is only a precaution, I assure you," Uther said, noticing his son glancing at Gaius.

"How is he?" Arthur asked Gaius

"There appears to be no major injuries. There is some bruising on his back that I have applied a salve to, which should make them heal faster." Gaius reported.

"Did you capture the attacker?" Uther interrupted.

Arthur hesitated before saying, "No. We lost him somewhere in the west wing, and my men have searched the entire castle and have come up empty."

"We cannot let him get away with this! You must capture him Arthur!" Uther said sternly.

"I am aware sire, but I was hoping that you could give us a more detailed description…"

"He wore a cloak that hid his face." Uther said tersely as he pressed his lips together

"Well what about height or weight? You must have noticed something…"

"_I don't know what he looks like!_" Uther exploded.

Arthur's opened a little in shock at his father's outburst before he quickly replaced it with his usual emotionless expression that he wore around his father.

"I believe the attacker abandoned his cloak and now hides among us in plain sight." Arthur said with a frown.

Uther cursed as he quickly stood from the bed, startling Gaius who was still applying salve to the King's bruises.

"So he could be anyone! How could you let him escape? Now he is free to make a second attack!" Uther roared as he pointed an accusing finger at his son.

"I'm sorry, Father, I did not arrive until after they had already lost him."

"But how could you let this happen?" Uther yelled, "I trusted you with the safety of Camelot while I healed, but you have proven that you do not deserve that trust!"

Arthur's eyebrows came together as he tried to keep his anger in check. "Father, I have done nothing to betray your trust. The attacker infiltrated the castle, possibly in some kind of disguise-"

"You should have seen that the sorcerer was _infiltrating Camelot_! I thought I had taught you better than this!"

"The attacker was a sorcerer?"

"Of _course_ they were a sorcerer! Who else would want to make an attempt on my life? _Who?_"

"You have plenty of other enemies –"

"But none of them can throw me into a wall with a _single word_!"

There was an awkward silence as Arthur tried to keep his anger in check. His father was the king it would do no good for them to argue.

Uther sighed. "Continue searching the castle."

"Yes, Sire," Arthur bowed and left the king's chambers, leaving Uther and Gaius alone.

Uther sighed once more as he sat back down on the bed and gestured for Gaius to continue applying the salve to his bruises.

"Gaius," Uther said, quietly, "I fear for Camelot."

"I'm sure Arthur has everything under control, he has been doing very well so far as king," Gaius said.

"But I fear that tonight's events prove that Arthur is not ready. He is too trusting, too soft to be king."

"I'm sure he will learn from his mistakes, Sire."

"But he cannot continue learning from his mistakes! One mistake could cost him this kingdom or his life."

"The counsel has been aiding him in any way we can. You forget that the sorcerer was very deceptive. He managed to trick everyone in Camelot, not just your son."

"Yes, but it is not job of everyone in Camelot to notice these things, it is Arthur's. If he cannot protect Camelot from dangers inside its walls, and not just outside… I fear I may have to step in."

"But, my Lord, you are still unwell. You need time to heal."

Uther looked away from Gaius and out the window at his kingdom. "I'm afraid time is not a luxury a king possesses. I must be there to uphold Camelot's honor."

Gaius decided not to argue the point. He knew that once the king made up his mind about something he could not be persuaded.

"As you say, you're Majesty."

:::

Merlin lifted his head off of the table and Lancelot stopped pacing as Gaius entered his chambers an hour later.

"Well?" the anguished warlock asked.

"The king is fine," Gaius said as put his bag on the table, "He actually is in a better state of mind now than he was before."

Merlin groaned and put his head back on the table.

Gaius sat across from Merlin at the table. "What happened tonight?" he asked.

When Merlin didn't respond right away, Lancelot said, "I do not know, he refused to tell me anything until you got back."

"Merlin," Gaius said softly, "You must tell us what happened so that we can fix this."

"We _can't_ fix this, the visions will come to pass and Camelot will be in ruins," Merlin said, head still buried in his arms.

"Merlin, what went wrong?" Gaius asked.

There was a pause. "I couldn't do it." Another pause. "I…I couldn't kill him."

Suddenly Merlin shot up from the table and faced the door, his back to Gaius and Lancelot.

"Everything was going according to plan, Lancelot distracted the guards and I knocked out the servant with a spell… but he looked so empty and sad. I felt pity for him and I hesitated. Then he shouted and I panicked. I tried to stab him, but he knew what I was doing and stopped the knife. I threw him against the wall with magic and ran," Merlin turned to face Gaius and Lancelot and Gaius say the tears in Merlin's eyes, "Now Uther is better and my visions will come true."

"We don't know that – " Lancelot began, but Merlin cut him off.

"Do you really think that Uther is going to let his assailant get away? He will tear Camelot apart searching for me, and he will tell his knights to keep a look out for sorcerers as well."

"So what do we do now?" Lancelot asked, "Do we try to kill him again?"

"No," Gaius said quickly "Uther will double his personal guard, there will be no chance to try again without exposing ourselves."

"So what do we do?" Lancelot asked again

"We wait," Gaius replied, "There is no guarantee that Uther will do the things in Merlin's visions, so we best not instigate him anymore. Most likely Uther will find someone he thinks is the assailant and then allow Arthur to take control once again."

Gaius saw his two younger companions eyes feel with relief upon hearing his encouraging words. Lancelot had finally sat down and Merlin's shoulders slumped in relief. They believed him when he said that the future Merlin had seen most likely will not come to pass, and that everything would be all right.

Gaius just wished that he believed it himself.

**Tell me what you thought in a review! What do you think of everyone's reaction to the failed assasination plot? **

**and remember to follow me on twitter to see when my next update will be! My username is happieface03**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone! so like a bad student I wrote this chapter instead of studying for finals. I hope you enjoy!**

**Thanks to everyone who alerted/favorited and special thanks to Alaia Skyhawk, AzraelLilith, sesshouluver, Tagrea, Sailor nova 1, MirrorFlower and DarkWind, Cassy27 and acklesaddict for reviewing!**

**and super special thanks to Ultrageek for betaing! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin**

The next morning Arthur trudged down the hallway towards the throne room. He had barely gotten any sleep the night before because of his father's insistence on searching everywhere for his attacker.

Even after it was obvious that the man who had attempted to kill Uther had gotten away, the King had continued to send men to search the castle and the lower town until the late hours of the night.

It hadn't occurred to Arthur until his men had woken up all of Camelot and disrupted hardworking innocent civilians' rest that Arthur was the king now and not his father. Arthur had been forced to assume control and so he used it. He ended the search for the attacker for the night and had ordered the knights to be up early to continue the search.

His father, of course, had been furious. But Arthur had stood his ground. While finding the attacker was important, it was not worth disturbing the peace he had explained to his enraged father. When he saw that Arthur would not change his mind, Uther had stormed out of his son's chambers.

The only bad part of Arthur's plan to have the knights rise early and continue the search was that it meant he also had to get up. Arthur had thrown his pillow extra hard this morning when Merlin woken him with his usual 'rise and shine'.

But he had gotten up and grumbling about how his father had better appreciate his efforts.

When Arthur finally reached the doors to the throne room he unconsciously stood straighter and erased all signs of weariness from his expression, he was the king. He had to be strong.

The guards opened the double doors for him and bowed their heads. Arthur walked into the throne room and stopped in shock.

"Father?" Arthur said as he stared wide eyed at his father sitting on the throne.

"Ah, Arthur," Uther said as he rose from the throne which sat at the head of the table where the council sat. "Good of you to join us. We were just discussing how to organize the search for the attacker."

Arthur continued to stare at his father in shock. He had expected to lead this meeting. His father was supposed to be in his room recovering from a grave mental sickness.

"What are you doing here?" Arthur asked after a minute of silence

"I am keeping Camelot safe from a dangerous sorcerer," Uther said simply

"But you are supposed to be resting," Arthur said

"Yes, but I realized last night that a king does not have the luxury of resting. I must see to the safety of this kingdom." (I don't think it was that awkward at all. Nice and Uther-y)

"I have been keeping Camelot safe in your absence," Arthur said as he approached the table.

"Arthur, you intentions are noble, but I'm afraid that last night's events proved that you are not ready to be king," Uther said calmly

"I have kept Camelot safe for the last three months!" Arthur said, his face turning red, "There has been less crime and less war than ever before – "

"I'm sorry, but the council agrees with me," Uther interrupted

Arthur looked to the men who had sworn their allegiance to him. They all stared at their hands and mumbled their agreement. It was dangerous to speak up against the king, but even more so to speak against his father.

"I will be taking back control. From now on I relieve you of your kingly duties," Uther said

"But Father you're still ill. Let me-"

"_I am the king and I will not be disobeyed!"_Uther shouted in a sudden flash of anger.

Arthur stiffened and bowed "Of course. I will oversee the search for the attacker in the lower town."

"Very good," Uther had calmed somewhat with his sons compliance but he still had a dangerous glint in his eyes "And Arthur," Arthur, who had started walking towards the door, turned around "Do not test me ever again."

Arthur clenched his fists and bowed stiffly "Yes, my Lord" he said quickly and walked swiftly out of the throne room.

:::

Arthur stormed into his chambers and slammed his sword onto the table.

Merlin looked over to take in the enraged prince as he neatly placed shirts in bureau.

"Did you find the attacker?" he asked the prince

"No, we searched the entire castle and lower town and nothing!" Arthur went over to the fireplace, placed his hands on the mantle and stared into the fire, "It's like he has disappeared."

Merlin paused for a moment before saying, "I'm sure you'll find him."

"I'm not so sure," Arthur sighed, "The worst part is I have to tell my father I failed."

"I'm sure he'll understand," Merlin said, "He knows you are still getting used to your position as king-"

"I'm no longer king."

Merlin froze, his hand awkwardly holding a shirt up above his head. "What?"

"My father has reassumed control. He believes that last night's events prove that I am not ready to be king."

Merlin paused before saying, "Oh"

Arthur sighed and stood straight. "Well, I'm off to report to my father."

"Good luck!" Merlin called out as Arthur shut the door behind him.

"You're going to need it," he mumbled as he placed another shirt in the bureau.

:::

"So you have failed me once again," Uther said sternly

"We did the best we could. We searched every house in the lower town and every corner of the castle and there were no signs of the intruder."

"This is what happens when you let the trail get cold, Arthur," Uther said

"The trail was cold long before I called off the trail last night," Arthur said coldly.

Uther slowly stood from the throne. "Leave us," he ordered the ten knights and noblemen congregated in the throne room.

Once the doors shut behind the last nobleman Uther took a step closer to his son. "I told you never to test my authority again."

"I did not test your authority, I simply mentioned a fact."

"You think that after three months of being king you know how to rule this kingdom better than me?" Uther challenged as he crept closer to Arthur. "What makes you think that you have what's necessary to find the attacker when you have already failed twice?"

"Father, I have a plan," Arthur said, never flinching under his father's cold glare. "The attacker failed, which means he will try again. If we can set a trap-"

"You would endanger the life of your king?"

"You would be protected at all times, of course-"

"You would risk the life of your father _because you are too incompetent to find the sorcerer by other means?" _Uther said, his voice rising to a yell.

"No, of course not, but it is the best way-"

"Get_ out!" _Uther screamed

Both men stood silently for a minute as Uther took several deep breaths to compose himself.

"I will lead the search myself. Now get out of my sight."

For the third time that day Arthur bowed stiffly to his father and walked out of the room. This time though, he had to fight the tears that threatened to show his weakness.

**What do you guys think of crazy Uther? Personally I like him better than normal Uther, he's funner to write. **

**I was thinking about this story the other day and I realized that it's almost over. There will probably be two more chapters and an epilogue. I haven't decided yet ife the epilogue will be it's own chapter or if it will just be part of chapter 9. **

**So if you want chapter 8 as quickly as possible I suggest pushing that little yellow review button down there and saying something nice. Reviews=motivation=mewritingfaster. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone! I kept meaning to write this because I thought that I would have so much free time now that school ended, and my life just got crazier than ever! You guys are really lucky that I like you so much because I woke up early this morning to make sure I wrote this! (and I watched some Merlin, but that's beside the point). **

**Thanks to everyone who favorited/alerted and special thanks to Tagrea, Khodgi01, AzraelLilith, hyperfuzzy, ARTs Ninja Pal, Cassy27, The 10-11 Dcotors, Alaia Skyhawk, acklesaddict, Gloxinia, MirrorFlower and DarkWind, Lenonea and MerlinFan1996 for reviewing!**

**Now onto the story!**

**This chapter is unbetaed so all mistakes are my own**

**Disclaimer: If you think I own Merlin your crazier than crazy Uther. **

The next morning Merlin entered Arthur's chambers carrying his clean clothes from the laundry and stopped dead in his tracks and gave the prince sitting at the table a funny look.

"What are you doing here?" Merlin asked "Aren't you supposed to be leading the search for your father's attacker?"

Arthur absently swirled his goblet of water in the air as he said "No, my father took over the search. It is no longer my responsibility."

Arthur took a sip of water and missed the look of pure terror on his manservant's face.

"Well I'm sure he'll find the assailant" Merlin said as he faced the wardrobe to hide his expression from Arthur.

Arthur snorted "I doubt it. The attacker was like a ghost, he left no trace. If I couldn't find him while the trail was still fresh, my father never will."

There was a light knock on the door and a guard entered.

"My Lord, the king requires your presence in the throne room immediately." The guard announced.

Arthur grabbed his sword off the table and called over his shoulder "Come on Merlin."

"But I have to put these clothes away!" Merlin whined as he placed the clothes on the prince's bed to be put away later.

"You're such a girl Merlin! You can fold the laundry later!" Arthur called as Merlin ran to catch up.

"I'm the one who will get in trouble later because I left clean laundry on your bed. I can see it now _Merlin you idiot you're supposed to clean my room, but somehow you manage to make it dirtier._" Merlin said in a gruff imitation of Arthur.

"I do not sound like that" Arthur scoffed.

"I thought it was a good imitation." Merlin said cheekily

"Merlin?"

"Yes Arthur?"

"Shut up."

"Right."

They arrived at throne room and the two guards posted outside opened the doors for the Prince. They could not believe the sight that met them in the throne room.

Dozens of peasants were lined up along the wall with just as many knights guarding them. The peasants all stood wide eyed among their guards, some of them openly sobbed while others tried to put on a brave face.

"Father, what is the meaning of this?" Arthur asked

"They are all suspected of being the attacker and all accused of sorcerery."

"Sorcery?" Arthur asked incredulously "I inspected all of these people myself and I found nothing to suggest they are sorcerers."

"Then obviously you overlooked something." Uther said coldly

"Father see reason, there is no way I could have overlooked all of them having magic."

"I have already seen examples of your incompetence, this is no different."

Arthur remains speechless as his father turned his back on him and ascended to the throne.

"Bring forth the first prisoner for trial." The king commanded.

Two guards brought a whimpering woman in front of the king and pushed her to her knees.

"Name?" Uther asked

"Lorain, my Lord" the woman stuttered

"You have been accused of sorcerery, what say you?"

"I be good my Lord, I have never used magic in my life!" the woman cried between sobs. "Magic is bad, I know that. I would never use it I swear! You are a good king for trying to get rid of it. Please, I know nothing of spells!"

Uther remained unmoved by the woman's pleas and quickly scanned a piece of parchment given to him by his clerk.

"You have been accused of using sorcerery by a neighbor. Apparently your husband got well very quickly after his illness."

"Yes my Lord, thanks to Gaius's good care-"

"Yet no man can recover from such a grave illness so quickly." Uther interrupted

"He be strong, my husband."

Uther scoffed and sat back in his chair, staring at the woman deep in thought. Nobody dared a say a word as the king decided his sentence.

"I find you guilty of practicing magic-"

"Nooo!" Lorain cried out

"for which the only penalty is death-"

"Please I have children!"

"You will be burnt at the stake at sunrise."

"Please, I am no sorcerer! I practice no magic!" Lorain pleaded

"Father, maybe we should ask Gaius of his opinion before sentencing her to death?" Arthur asked

"Are you questioning my judgment?" Uther said, his glare turning to his son.

"Of course not father," Arthur backtracked "But should we not present all the evidence before sentencing?"

"_I have examined all the evidence necessary!"_Uther exploded rising from his chair.

The only sound that could be heard in the throne room was Lorain's sobbing and sporadic whimpering as the king took a deep breath and sat back down in his throne.

"Take her away." Uther ordered with a wave of his hand.

Lorain's cries intensified as the guards dragged her away.

"I am no sorcerer! I am no sorcerer," she cried "Please! I am no sorcerer!"

Uther, his eyes empty of emotion, called out "Next" and the trials continued.

::

Arthur stormed to his chambers after the council had been dismissed so that Merlin had to practically run to catch up.

When he arrived, the prince banged the door open and threw his sword on the table. He started taking deep breaths to hold back the tears that threatened to roll down his face.

Merlin followed the prince more timidly, slowly walking into the room. He wanted to say something to comfort the prince, but unsure how to go about it.

"Twenty-eight people," Arthur said softly "and three of them _children!_" Arthur lost it and punched his bureau. "_What was he thinking?_" Arthur punched the bureau again. "_How could he condemn 28 people to death in one day?_" Arthur matched a punch with each word.

Merlin sadly watched as Arthur punched the bureau over and over again until finally the word cracked.

Arthur stared absently at the cracked wood as Merlin slowly walked over.

"You're knuckles are bleeding," Merlin said, unsure of what else to say "Let me tend to them-" He tried to grab Arthur's hand, but the prince pulled it away.

"I deserve the pain." Arthur said weakly as he fell into a chair.

"It wasn't your fault," Merlin said "You tried to stand up for each of them."

"It wasn't enough."

"It was all you could do. And I didn't see anyone else doing half of what you did, even though they knew it was wrong."

Arthur looked at Merlin for a moment "Those people, those innocents, are going to die because of his stubbornness," Arthur said slowly "It makes you wonder, how many others has he condemned to death, how many others have I helped him sentence, were innocent? How many others are victims of his inability to listen?"

Merlin took a deep breath before responding. "I don't know, and I don't really think it matters. All I think that matters is what you do to stop it."

Arthur stared at his manservant, a new determination slowly creeping into his eyes.

"But what if there is nothing I can do?" he asked

"There is always something you can do. And if you don't do it, no one else will."

Arthur looked thoughtfully into the distance and Merlin stood quietly as he let him think.

He was proud of Arthur. The Arthur he had first met upon arriving to Camelot would not care that his father had sentenced almost thirty people to death. But this new Arthur cared and Merlin could see hints of the great king the great dragon had told him about all those years ago.

Suddenly Arthur stood, making Merlin jump. "Come on were going to see Gaius." Arthur said with his usual confidence.

"Why Gaius?" Merlin asked

"Because I need to get these bleeding knuckles patched up," Arthur said with a hint of a smile "and because I have a plan." With that the prince turned around and determinedly walked towards the door.

Merlin smiled as he rushed to catch up to his destiny.

**So what do you guys think of super crazy Uther? and of wise Merlin? why don't you tell me in a review? all you have to do is push that blue button (got it right this time acklesaddict) and leave a little message. I really want to get to 100 reviews!**

**Theres only one more chapter left** ***sobs* I'm really going to miss this story :(**

**But if you want to know when I'm posting new stories, check me out on twitter. my user name is happieface03 (same as here).**


	9. Chapter 9

**Last chapter! :( I had so much trouble writing this because I didn't want the story to end! Thanks to everyone who favorited/alerted and reviewed!**

**Special thanks to FiammaNoire, CAT GIRL 28, Cassy27, Owl Watcher, MirrorFlower and DarkWind, MamzelleHermy, Alaia Skyhawk, The 10-11 Doctors, Serial Chick, Gloxinia and Twilight Gleek for reviewing last chapter!**

**Now onto the story!**

**Disclaiemr:I don't own Merlin**

Merlin collapsed onto his bed after Arthur left Gaius's chambers. He kept his face buried in his pillow, even as he heard Gaius's slow steps enter his small bedroom.

"Merlin?" Gaius said his name like a question "Merlin I know you're not asleep."

Merlin turned his head to the side "You couldn't at least pretend that you thought I was asleep?" He asked cheekily.

Gaius sat on the edge of his ward's bed "I wanted to know if you were all right."

Merlin sat up so that he was sitting next to his mentor. "I just saw almost thirty people sentenced to death for a crime they did not commit. A crime that I commit by just existing. I don't even know how to make sense of what I'm feeling."

Gaius sighed and patted Merlin on the back "You went through a traumatizing experience today. Do not dwell on it, tomorrow by this time all those people will be home with their families."

"If all goes according to plan." Merlin said

Gaius gripped his shoulder "Arthur's plan will succeed. It is a good plan."

"But if it doesn't Camelot has everything to lose," Merlin said "I saw almost thirty people sentenced to death today, and I know if this plan fails this could be a daily occurrence."

"Merlin," Gaius paused as he waited for his ward to look up from the floor "That will not happen. Even if Arthur's plan fails we will find a way to prevent you vision."

Merlin smiled "Thanks Gaius."

Gaius simply patted his back once more and left the warlock in peace.

:::

The next morning Uther barged into the throne room, not even waiting for the guards to open them for him and banging the doors against the walls.

He saw his son with _his_ crown on talking to some of the council members.

"_What is the meaning of this?_" Uther exploded

"Ah Father," Arthur said ignoring the rage Uther was exhibiting "I have taken over your duties to give you some time to rest."

"_I don't need rest! I-_" Uther began before Arthur interrupted him.

"Father after yesterdays fiasco it is apparent that you are still unwell." Arthur sat down in the throne.

"Get out of my throne boy!" Uther said coldly "I am in good health and ready to take back all of my duties."

"Yesterday showed that you are not in good health," Arthur said calmly "Even Gaius agrees that you still need more time to recover."

"Gaius?" Uther whispered as he stared wide eyed at the old physician who walked out of the shadows.

Gaius bowed to Arthur "It is my professional opinion sire that while your father's body is in perfect condition his mind has yet to recover from his ordeal."

"And what do you suggest Gaius?" Arthur asked

"I recommend that his majesty take more time to recover properly before he returns to his duties."

"Thank you Gaius," Arthur said as Gaius bowed and backed into the shadows once more "Father this is for your own good."

"_No this is mutiny!_" Uther exploded "_You are trying to undermine my authority as king!_"

"Father I am doing no such thing-" Arthur said calmly

"_Mutiny!"_ Uther continued to yell "_You are all conspiring against me!_"

"Father please-" Arthur tried to interject

"You are not ready to be king!" Uther said coldly "You never will be! You have made too many mistakes!"

"Laying blame on me will do nothing-"

"Then tell what have you done with the sorcerers?" Upon seeing Arthur's confused expression Uther elaborated "What have you done with the magic users I sentenced yesterday?"

"They have all been released."

"You see! You would have my enemies free to conspire against me!"

"They were innocent!" Arthur said his face growing red

"This is mutiny!" Uther continued to scream "I will not have this in my court!"

"_Enough!_" Arthur yelled as he stood, losing his temper for the first time "Guards, confine my father to his chambers where he will be treated for his illness."

Guards dragged a struggling Uther out of the throne room, leaving the room in a shocked silence. Arthur betrayed no emotion as he watched his father be dragged against his will to his chambers screaming of mutiny.

"Leave me." Arthur commanded and everyone in the room cleared out except for Merlin.

Once everyone was gone and the doors were closed Arthur slumped down into the throne looking defeated.

"You did what had to be done." Merlin said after a few moments of silence.

"That doesn't make it any easier." Arthur replied

"The right thing is never the easiest path, yet it has the most rewards."

"Merlin did you just say something wise?" Arthur asked incredulously

Merlin shrugged "I have my moments."

Arthur shook his head and smiled "You never cease to amaze me Merlin."

Merlin smiled, happy that he had made Arthur smile "Yes well you _never_ amaze me."

"Well that's because everything I do is so amazing that it stops surprising people."

"You are such a prat." Merlin scoffed

"Merlin I'm a king now. I can have you banished for saying such things." Arthur said

"You're right, I can't call you a prat anymore," Merlin thought a moment before saying "Now that you're a king you're a tyrannical prat."

"My first law as king is going to ban that word from all of Camelot."

"Well you know me Arthur, I never listen to the rules." Merlin said cheekily

Arthur stood from the throne and grabbed his unsuspecting manservant into a head lock and rubbed his knuckles against Merlin's raven hair.

"Who are you calling a prat now?" Arthur asked

"No one! No one!" Merlin yelled and Arthur released him. "Except you!" He added with a grin as he sprinted from the throne room.

"Merlin!" Arthur yelled. He was about to chase after his manservant when he remembered that he was a king and kings don't chase after servants in their own castles.

"Guards! Bring my manservant back here!" the guard bowed and left in the direction Merlin had gone.

Arthur smiled smugly, it would serve Merlin right for calling the king a prat.

:::::

Arthur stood nervously behind the curtain that separated the room he was in from the balcony that faced the main square. Behind that curtain were hundreds of his subjects waiting for him to make his announcement.

Two days had passed since he had confined his father to his chambers, and as he had suspected his father had not gone willingly.

As soon as the guards had placed him in his chambers the king had gone straight to the window and hollered about how Arthur had started a mutiny and was overthrowing his rightful king for everyone to hear.

The rumors had spread quickly, faster than Arthur could write an official statement and send it out to the town criers. He had almost immediately had the windows in his father's room boarded up so that the old king could now yell out them anymore.

But the king had managed to spread rumors through other means. Whispering to the guards and servants about uprisings and mutinies so that the people were not responding as hoped to Arthur's new rule.

So now Arthur was making an official announcement himself to the people hoping that it would dispel all rumors of mutiny.

Arthur took a deep breath and pushed the curtain aside and walked onto the balcony. The courtyard beneath him silenced with his presence and hundreds of curious peasant eyes stared up at him.

"People of Camelot," He began "Recently rumors of mutiny have made their way throughout the kingdom-"

"You're a traitor!" a random man interrupted "You're just like your sister!"

There were a few yells of agreement and cries for his removal from the throne, but Arthur took another deep breath and continued on.

"These rumors are untrue-" He tried to continue

"Don't lie to us!" A woman yelled "Don't fill our heads with false hopes like your sister!"

There were a few more cries before Arthur exploded "_I am nothing like Morgana!_"

The courtyard silenced once more so Arthur continued.

"I am nothing like Morgana," He repeated "Morgana took the throne by force, imprisoned my… our father and treated you all with cruelty."

"I promise you this situation is different. My father, as you all know, has been ill from Morgana's harsh treatment these last few months. The other night an attacker attempted to kill my father. This event angered my father and made him believe that he was fully recovered."

"But he was not and not two days ago he tried to sentence thirty innocent people to death for sorcerery. Because of this I recognized that my father was still unwell and needed further rest and treatment before he can return to his duties as king."

"Until then I shall take his place as king. When our court physician deems my father healthy once more I will gladly step aside and allow him to take the throne, but until then I shall take full responsibility as king."

"My father, in his ill state, believes this to be mutiny, which is where the rumors are based from. But I only take the throne because it would be unfair to the people to have to be subject to an unwell king."

There was a minute of complete silence as the people took in what Arthur had said. But suddenly a man's voice yelled out.

"Long live King Arthur! Long Live the King!"

And then one by one each person in the courtyard was chanting

"Long live King Arthur! Long Live the King!"

Arthur nodded his head in recognition to his people and turned around back into the castle. The chanting and cheering getting softer as he walked farther into the… no, his castle. And a large smile lighting up his face.

::::

Merlin ran into Gaius's chambers, startling the old man.

"The people have accepted Arthur as their king!" He said joyously

"Well thank goodness for that!" Gaius exclaimed

Over the last two days as the rumors had spread, Gaius and Merlin had thought that Arthur's plan had failed and that his father would once again take over the throne, but hearing that the people had accepted Arthur meant that Merlin's vision had no way of coming true.

"Now Arthur won't turn over the crown unless you say that Uther is healed." Merlin said

"Which I won't do." Gaius said with a smile

"So my vision won't ever happen. There will never be a second purge!"

"No my boy," Gaius said fondly "Arthur is king and everything will be all right."

**Hahaha and you all thought that Uther was going to die! I have to give it to SerialChick though who guessed the exact plotline! kudos to you!**

**So what did you guys think of this story? Could you tell me in a review? Even all you silent riders out there could you just leave me a short message?**

**Special thanks to all my loyal reviewers and thanks to all my silent readers too. You're favorites and Alerts made my day!**

**And if you want to keep up with my other stories check me out on twitter. my username is happieface03! I already started a three shot called The Untold Story of A man in the Immortal Army. Check it out!**

**:)**


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